Additional Links

Brothers die after car chase

Two North Augusta brothers were killed after leading authorities on a high-speed car chase that began in Augusta and ended when the vehicle struck a tree in North Augusta, according to police.

Derrick Darden, 23, and his brother, Deante Darden, 22, both of North Augusta, were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash about 2 a.m. on Wednesday on Carolina Springs Road, according to Aiken County Coroner Tim Carlton.

According to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy attempted to stop the car the brothers were in when he observed them speeding on Broad Street in Augusta.

The deputy attempted to catch up to the vehicle and observed the car driving erratically, police said. The vehicle, a 2007 Chevrolet Impala, initially pulled over at the corner of 4th and Reynolds streets in Augusta, and, as the deputy exited his patrol cruiser and approached the Impala, the brothers took off at a high rate of speed, police said.

The vehicle traveled into South Carolina on the Gordon Highway Bridge at speeds in excess of 100 mph, police said. The vehicle took the Martintown Road exit and traveled on several other roads before it went off the roadway and struck a tree at 515 Carolina Springs Road, police said.

Neither man was wearing a seat belt and both died from multiple body trauma, Carlton said. An autopsy for Derrick Darden, who was the driver, is scheduled for today in Newberry, and toxicology is pending, Carlton said.

The officer involved in the chase, Deputy Bert Gates, is a 22-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office and is currently assigned to the office’s DUI Task Force.

Comments

Notice about comments:

Aiken Standard is pleased to offer readers the enhanced ability to comment on stories. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point.

We do not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click the X that appears in the upper right corner when you hover over a comment. This will send the comment to Facebook for review. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website. Read our full terms and conditions.